Leadership

[Blotan Hunka]

Nice thread. Worth a bump. I have been reading about Theodore Roosevelt lately so I thought Id add this.

http://www.bartleby.com/58/6.html

A YEAR or two ago I was speaking to a famous Yale professor, one of the most noted scholars in the country, and one who is even more than a scholar, because he is in every sense of the word a man. We had been discussing the Yale-Harvard foot-ball teams, and he remarked of a certain player: "I told them not to take him, for he was slack in his studies, and my experience is that, as a rule, the man who is slack in his studies will be slack in his foot-ball work; it is character that counts in both."

Bodily vigor is good, and vigor of intellect is even better, but far above both is character. It is true, of course, that a genius may, on certain lines, do more than a brave and manly fellow who is not a genius; and so, in sports, vast physical strength may overcome weakness, even though the puny body may have in it the heart of a lion. But, in the long run, in the great battle of life, no brilliancy of intellect, no perfection of bodily development, will count when weighed in the balance against that assemblage of virtues, active and passive, of moral qualities, which we group together under the name of character; and if between any two contestants, even in college sport or in college work, the difference in character on the right side is as great as the difference of intellect or strength the other way, it is the character side that will win.

All kinds of qualities go to make up character, for, emphatically, the term should include the positive no less than the negative virtues. If we say of a boy or a man, "He is of good character," we mean that he does not do a great many things that are wrong, and we also mean that he does do a great many things which imply much effort of will and readiness to face what is disagreeable. He must not steal, he must not be intemperate, he must not be vicious in any way; he must not be mean or brutal; he must not bully the weak. In fact, he must refrain from whatever is evil. But besides refraining from evil, he must do good. He must be brave and energetic; he must be resolute and persevering. The Bible always inculcates the need of the positive no less than the negative virtues, although certain people who profess to teach Christianity are apt to dwell wholly on the negative. We are bidden not merely to be harmless as doves, but also as wise as serpents. It is very much easier to carry out the former part of the order than the latter; while, on the other hand, it is of much more importance for the good of mankind that our goodness should be accompanied by wisdom than that we should merely be harmless. If with the serpent wisdom we unite the serpent guile, terrible will be the damage we do; and if, with the best of intentions, we can only manage to deserve the epithet of "harmless," it is hardly worth while to have lived in the world at all.

Perhaps there is no more important component of character than steadfast resolution. The boy who is going to make a great man, or is going to count in any way in after life, must make up his mind not merely to overcome a thousand obstacles, but to win in spite of a thousand repulses or defeats. He may be able to wrest success along the lines on which he originally started. He may have to try something entirely new. On the one hand, he must not be volatile and irresolute, and, on the other hand, he must not fear to try a new line because he has failed in another. Grant did well as a boy and well as a young man; then came a period of trouble and failure, and then the Civil War and his opportunity; and he grasped it, and rose until his name is among the greatest in our history. Young Lincoln, struggling against incalculable odds, worked his way up, trying one thing and another until he, too, struck out boldly into the turbulent torrent of our national life, at a time when only the boldest and wisest could so carry themselves as to win success and honor; and from the struggle he won both death and honor, and stands forevermore among the greatest of mankind.

 

[matt.m]

When I first picked up Corporal in the Marine Corps I was told by a few Sergeants and a Staff Sergeant the following:
1. Leadership is a lonely place. Not everyone will like your decisions etc.
2. If you are not a strong leader then no one will care what your rank is.
3. Without integrity you have nothing.
4. To be a good leader, you must be a better follower.

I have led troops in combat. I have also been a sergeant who was led by a private. He was the better man for the job.

I will tell you all a neat story of my pop. In 2003 at the Moo Sul Kwan national convention Bill Wallace was our guest of honor. He taught several classes over the course of the weekend. Everyone was in awe, I mean everyone. It isn't every day you get to talk to a world champ after all.

Anyway my father was teaching a hapkido class of 100 students and a messenger came and told him that one of Bill's classes was to begin in 20 minutes. Dad got all of the groups attention and made the following comment "I am done teaching for now, everyone go and learn from Bill Wallace." "You guys get to train with me all the time, go learn something valuable from a world champion."

We voted with our feet by staying for an extra hour with dad. To me that is the epitome of leadership, non militarily speaking of course. Dad was humble and truly wanted everyone to leave to learn from Bill. Not one soul moved, we all stayed and trained.

Just as a side note: I wear a leg brace for each knee. Bill has had an accident, where he could no longer train in Judo. I got a few minutes of one on one time with him and learn some of his training techniques. He is a very nice person, a very quality human being.